Worries

All of you who know me, know that I am a worrier. I try not to be. It's not a trait I like about myself, but it's in my genes. I'm Cuban, after all, and Cubans worry about the weather about as much as they worry about world peace; maybe more.

That being said, I've had a bit of worry/anxiety built up the last few weeks. I moved across the country. Yes - again - let the jokes fly....Anyway, I moved across the country, I started a new job, I had Christmas shopping to do, I didn't have the right shoes.....the list can go on for miles. All of that melted away when on Saturday morning I went in to check on a sleeping Peyton and he wasn't in bed. No big deal, I went out to see if he was with Scott. Let me digress for a moment - we are staying in my sister's guest house. There are 2 rooms. 2 options of where he could be. Option 1 - bedroom, not there. Option 2 - other bedroom, not there. Option 3 was my sister's house, not there.

I'm not sure how many thoughts the human brain can process at once, but I don't know how many scenarios of what could have happend to him ran throught my mind. None of them were good. Kidnapping, drowning, wandered off into the street. 5 people started going in all directions looking for him. My sister started to call 911. I ran through her house, I checked the pool, I checked the driveway. Finally, I around the guesthouse to see if he was back there. As I was running, I see this little person staring out at me from behind a curtain. THERE HE WAS. I run back in the house yelling "I FOUND HIM, I FOUND HIM".

The whole ordeal lasted maybe 5 minutes. It was the scariest 5 minutes of my life, and my hands are shaking a little just re-living it. He had simply gotten out of bed and hid to scare his brother. He wasn't sure why everyone was yelling his name and I think he was just as scared as we were when I finally got to him.

This week, although still filled with my usual worry, I have thanked God countless times for everything I have and everything I take for granted. It's sad that it takes something like that to make me take a moment and be grateful. I'm still worried about my shoes and my Christmas gifts, but I know that at the root of it all, I have everything I need.